what does "tiddley-poo" and "four sheets to the wind" mean.
And President George W. Bush, no less, and by his own admission, was smashed, or tiddley-poo, or four sheets to the wind a good deal of time from when he was sixteen until he was forty。(From )

I know he is joking about Bush's addiction to alcohol. But what does "tiddley-poo" and "four sheets to the wind" exactly mean? And why the sequence, from "smashed" to "tiddley-poo" to " four sheets"?Does it mean that he was so drunk that he shit and pee on bed ?

Question

what does "tiddley-poo" and "four sheets to the wind" mean.
And President George W. Bush, no less, and by his own admission, was smashed, or tiddley-poo, or four sheets to the wind a good deal of time from when he was sixteen until he was forty。(From )

I know he is joking about Bush's addiction to alcohol. But what does "tiddley-poo" and "four sheets to the wind" exactly mean? And why the sequence, from "smashed" to "tiddley-poo" to " four sheets"?Does it mean that he was so drunk that he shit and pee on bed ?

Answer

The phrases mean the person is drunk. "Tiddley-poo" sounds like a very cute expression. We can say someone is "tiddly" to mean they are a little bit drunk.

"Smashed", you may guess, means completely drunk. "Four sheets to the wind" seems to be Vonnegut's own adaption of the phrase "three sheets to the wind", so he means "more than very drunk". Apparently "three sheets to the wind" comes from a sliding scale of drunkenness.

As for the sequence, I guess Vonnegut meant that you could never tell exactly how drunk Bush would be on any given day.

Answer

I've never heard "tiddly poo" but in this context they both mean "drunk." GW Bush was an alcoholic for most of his young life.

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